The Dodo Archive

SeaWorld Boycott Grows: Yet Another Company Cuts Ties

After flip-flopping on its original plan to sever ties with SeaWorld, STA Travel, the world's largest travel company for young people, has announced that it will, in fact, stop offering tours to the amusement park.

The Dodo reported earlier this week that STA Travel, which offers travel packages to over 2.5 million people every year, would stop providing tours to SeaWorld as well as to elephant ride operators in Thailand. The company cited ethical concerns about supporting facilities that have questionable animal welfare records.

On Wednesday, the company said that "internal confusion" caused the announcement, and that those deals were simply under review. But now, STA Travel says that the ban is in place, and that it is committed to selling "safe and ethical" trips.

With Taco Bell recently cutting ties with SeaWorld and San Diego International Airport showcasing an anti-SeaWorld ad, STA Travel is following suit. And animal advocates are looking at those who haven't -- now the pressure turns on Costco, which sells SeaWorld ticket vouchers, and Southwest Airlines, which offers package travel deals to the park.

SeaWorld and marine parks profit off keeping orcas and other marine animals in captivity -- despite evidence that captivity not only induces unnatural behaviors in whales, but also endangers trainers. Join us in pledging never to visit SeaWorld or other marine parks until they empty their orca tanks.

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